It’s a touchy subject! But what can and can’t you do yourself when it comes to electrical work in your home? And how does that affect your choice when it comes to installing your own extractor fan?
Well, there is a fairly definitive answer here - any electrical work should be undertaken and signed off by a qualified electrician. But many of us will happily do it ourselves, especially if it can save some money on booking a Spark to do what we might see as a simple job.
For those of us of the “older” generation, learning to change a plug or swap out old fuses were skills passed down from our parents as a right of passage, a defining moment that let us know we were seen as responsible in the eyes of our elders, while knowing we had learned a crucial life skill, akin to changing a flat tyre!
However, when it comes to hardwiring electrical goods to the mains, we really should stop and think about the possible consequences of our actions. UK power is supplied to our homes as an alternating current (AC) operating at 230 volts (V) and a frequency of 50 hertz (Hz). This means that the current and voltage reverse direction 50 times each second. You really don’t want to come into contact with that!
Aside from the obvious hazardous to health issues posed by coming into contact with mains power, other dangers are lurking when it comes to undertaking your own wiring.
According to electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk, 53.4% of all accidental domestic fires in the UK are attributed to electrical faults, with 46.5% of that number caused by what they call “Misuse”.
Obviously, should you be unfortunate enough to have a house fire (or, for that matter, an electrocution) that requires you to claim on your insurance, it’s worth noting the following:
In the UK (England & Wales)
- Electrical work in the home is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations.
- Certain types of work are “notifiable” — meaning they must either be:
- Carried out by a competent person registered with a Part P scheme (e.g. NICEIC, NAPIT), or
- Inspected and certified by your local authority building control before being connected.
Examples of notifiable work include:
- Installing a new circuit
- Rewiring
- Work in bathrooms or kitchens (special locations or wet rooms)
- Work involving consumer units (fuse boxes)
If you’re not qualified or registered, you can legally do minor non-notifiable work (like changing sockets, switches, light fittings), but major wiring work without certification is a breach of building regulations.
Now, regarding your home and contents insurance:
Most UK home insurance policies include clauses requiring you to:
- Maintain the property in a safe condition, and
- Comply with building regulations, and
- Not act in a way that increases the risk of loss.
If an electrical fire occurs and the loss adjuster determines that:
- The cause was faulty wiring you installed, and
- The wiring did not comply with building regulations, or was incompetently done, then your insurer could legally refuse or reduce your claim.
They might argue that:
- The loss was caused by negligence or unlawful work, and/or
- You failed to disclose material information (e.g. doing significant electrical work yourself).
In practice:
- Some insurers will still pay out for third-party losses (to avoid unfair hardship to neighbours, for example),
- But they could refuse to pay for your property damage or contents, or pursue you for recovery after paying out.
If you did minor DIY electrical work (e.g. replaced a light fitting properly), it’s unlikely to void cover.
But if you did major or notifiable work (like adding a new ring main, consumer unit, work in a wet room or rewire), and it caused the fire, the insurer would have strong grounds to deny the claim.
Even if you thought the work was safe, lack of certification makes it very hard to prove compliance with regulations.
To stay protected:
- Always use a Part P-registered electrician for notifiable work.
- Keep certificates (Electrical Installation Certificate, Part P compliance notice).
- Inform your insurer if you undertake or plan major electrical work.
- Don’t rely on DIY for wiring that affects the fixed installation - it’s not worth the risk.
- However, if you do undertake the installation yourself, get a qualified electrician to sign off on the completed work so that the installation is certified. It’s worth noting that finding an electrician happy to certify your work, which has essentially lost him potential earnings, will probably be harder than you think and will likely cost the same as it would have done to have him do the installation, so…
We know DIYing is an enjoyable pastime, so with this in mind, if you are planning a project that requires any electrical wiring, we have produced the simple flow chart below to help you decide whether to DIY or not to DIY:
